Photos and Review: Spoon at the Moore Theatre

I’m going to be very upfront about my utter confusion at the mild success Mikachu has garnered from various music publications in the past year or so. After previously having seen them at 2009’s Capitol Hill Block Party, I wasn’t expecting an especially enjoyable set, and a spectacularly unpleasant 15 minutes or so was what ensued before I ducked out to find a drink in the bar with two other photographers to avoid the sounds of impending apocalypse.

“Does anybody think this is weird? Seriously? Does anyone else but me think this is f****** weird?” the gangly and ginghamed front man of Deerhunter incredulously pressed the uproarious audience, as he gestured wildly at the grandiose venue his band was gracing. Indeed, the Moore is a sight to behold, but on this night, it appeared all too much for Bradford Cox to take in at once.

As always, he enchanted the audience with his endearing banter and charming personality. “Boo? Seriously?” Cox retorted in response to a member of the audience jestingly catcalling the band. “At this point, that doesn’t even affect me! I don’t even understand anything!”

I’ve long been a fan of Deerhunter, though had only seen the band live in the carnation of its lead singer performing at the Sasquatch! Music Festival Launch party under the pseudonym Atlas Sound. The then missing “Whitney” joined the band tonight and saucily danced for the duration of two songs before mysteriously disappearing.

Cox is a notorious fan of Seattle and its grunge history and went so far as to dedicate one of Deerhunter’s last songs to Kurt Cobain, a personal idol of Cox’s. Cox went off on a spiel about how he spent his 12th birthday crying alone in his bedroom after hearing that Kurt Cobain had died and exclaimed “I’ll never be 27 years old” (Cobain’s age at the time of his unfortunate death.)

I’ve seen Spoon a handful of times in my lifetime and their set at the Moore without a doubt marked one of the best performances I’ve seen from this Austin band. Admittedly, Spoon is one of my favorite bands ever, so I’m naturally inclined to remark that their live set is as close to perfection as live music gets. Spoon’s existence dates back to 1994, so they’ve ostensibly had more than enough time to perfect the performance aspect of their craft.

Spoon rocked through all the favorites and lots of stuff off their latest endeavor, Transference, perhaps their rawest and back-to-basics recording of their entire back catalog. Spoon’s live shows always remind me of how much this band means to me. Their live show is a true must-see. Through the many years of Britt Daniel’s career, he hasn’t skipped a beat. Though his relay to the audience in between songs was minimal, his affect came across as effortlessly as the way songs like “I Turn My Camera On” carve themselves into your brain and refuse to leave.

Deerhunter’s Cox joined the band on stage for a rendition of “Who Makes Your Money,” but not before picking up his guitar and comically playing the first couple chords of Nirvana’s “Smells Like Teen Spirit”, much to the audience’s delight.

All in all, Spoon put on one of the best and hard-hitting sets I’ve seen in a while. Spoon’s still got it, and like fine wine, it appears time has aged them in the most magnificent way.